Steelcase Inc. - SCS - Revenue and earnings per share were in-line with company estimates

Steelcase Inc. (NYSE:SCS) reported third quarter revenue of $727.2 million and net income of $23.6 million, or $0.19 per share. Excluding restructuring costs, adjusted earnings were $0.22 per share. Revenue and earnings per share were in-line with company estimates. Steelcase reported $719.4 million of revenue and earnings of $0.17 per share in the third quarter of the prior year, including restructuring costs of approximately $0.02 per share.

Organic revenue growth in the third quarter was 1 percent after adjusting for $8.2 million of unfavorable currency translation effects and a favorable impact of $6.0 million from recent dealer acquisitions. The Americas posted 3 percent organic growth over the prior year while EMEA experienced a 1 percent organic decline. Revenue continued to include a higher mix of project business from some of the company's largest corporate customers as compared to prior year.

Current quarter operating income of $38.4 million compares to $38.2 million in the prior year. Excluding restructuring costs, third quarter adjusted operating income of $44.4 million compares with $42.0 million in the prior year. Strength in the Americas was largely offset by lower profitability in EMEA and the Other category.

Cost of sales improved to 68.5 percent of revenue in the current quarter compared to 69.0 percent in the prior year. Year-over-year benefits from recent pricing adjustments (net of commodity cost changes) and restructuring actions (net of related disruption costs) were partially offset by the impact of a shift in business mix.

Operating expenses in the third quarter were $184.8 million compared with $181.1 million in the prior year. The increase was largely due to higher variable compensation expenses. The impact of recent acquisitions was largely offset by favorable currency translation effects.

On December 7, 2012, the Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.09 per share to be paid on or before December 28, 2012 to shareholders of record as of December 17, 2012.

About Steelcase Inc. - SCS

For 100 years, Steelcase Inc. (SCS) has helped create great experiences for the world's leading organizations - wherever work happens. SCS and our family of brands - including Steelcase®, Coalesse®, Designtex®, Details®, Nurture®, PolyVision®, and Turnstone® - offer a comprehensive portfolio of furnishings, products and services designed to unlock human promise and support social, economic, and environmental sustainability. SCS is globally accessible through a network of channels, including approximately 650 dealers. Steelcase is a global, industry-leading, and publicly traded company with fiscal 2012 revenue of $2.75 billion.